There’s landing on your feet, and then there’s Pat Foye.
Fired Tuesday as executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Long Island resident was hired Wednesday as the new president of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, with official word coming from the MTA early Thursday.
Joseph Lhota, MTA chairman, announced Foye’s hiring along with the appointment of Veronique Hakim as the authority’s new managing director. Along with MTA Chief Development Officer Janno Lieder, the new hires will operate in the newly created Office of the Chairman, according to the MTA.
Foye, who was replaced this week as Port Authority executive director by Rick Cotton, a special counsel to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, will be primarily responsible for implementing Lhota’s recently announced action plan to improve the New York City subway system, among other high-profile projects.
The new hires are “veteran transportation professionals” who, together with Lieder, “form the dynamic team the MTA needs at this moment,” Lhota said in a statement.
“The plan I recently introduced is ambitious [and] aggressive and requires dedicated leadership ensuring operational excellence and long-term innovation,” the chairman added. “Which is exactly what the team in the Office of the Chairman will provide.”
Politico reported Monday that Cuomo was considering moving Foye – who famously ordered the lanes reopened after the infamous 2013 George Washington Bridge Scandal – from the Port Authority to the beleaguered MTA.
According to Politico, the move was pursuant to Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie replacing Foye and Port Authority Chairman John Degnan with Cotton and former New Jersey State Sen. Kevin O’Toole, respectively.
